‘The prize-money is superb’: Haggas takes aim at £100,000 Queen Charlotte Stakes

Eight horses will go to post for the Listed Louis Roederer Queen Charlotte Stakes, our feature race on an eight-race card this Sunday.

With prize-money of £100,000, which is well in excess of the standard for Listed races in Britain, the seven-furlong fillies’ contest has drawn runners from Newmarket, Lambourn, Kingsclere and Yorkshire, headed by the 104-rated Bounce The Blues, trained by Andrew Balding for Barbara Keller. The five-year-old was a Listed winner in Ireland prior to her move to the UK and has been in great form this season, finishing second in her last two starts in stakes company.

Jane Chapple-Hyam, fresh from her success at Royal Ascot, where she trained two Group winners, brings Chelmsford specialist Internationalangel back to the course seeking valuable bold black type after her runner-up finish in the Listed Prix Maurice Zilber at Longchamp on her most recent outing. Also five, the daughter of Dark Angel had a profitable winter at Chelmsford, winning four races in a row between October and December.

Her fellow Newmarket trainer William Haggas is enjoying a terrific season and he will saddle Arousing, a four-year-old half-sister to his treble Group 1 winner One Master who races for Kentucky Derby-winning owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stable

“The prize-money is superb which is one of the reasons we are running,” said Haggas. “I wish I had a better one at the distance but she is a well-bred filly, a half-sister to One Master, so trying to get some black type is all important. She is drawn one, which is terrific. It’s probably not quite as good a race as it should be because it is missing Happy Romance, but probably the proximity to the July Cup has knocked her out. But it’s great race and these races need supporting. With eight runners they will also get an each-way betting race.”

A total of £178,698 in prize-money is on offer across the eight races on Sunday, which includes the competitive Class 2 Betsi Handicap worth £25,000.